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City of Boston Utility Coordination Software
Getting started –
The clearance process is one of the most crucial interactions that take place between the City of Boston
and the many utility companies, private contractors, and other City agencies.
By keeping vigilant and coordinating with each other, together we ensure that the City of Boston’s
streets are well maintained while allowing the vital construction that supplies the constituents with their
gas, water/sewer, phone, cable, and electricity.
Nothing is more embarrassing than a utility company requesting a permit for a street that was only
recently paved, for both the utility company as well as the City. Let us all continue working hard to
prevent such a mistake.
The Public Works Department, Paul Taylor with input from Mark Cardarelli, designed COBUCS to be
as User-friendly as possible. Following these simple steps will allow your company to enter its planned
work in just a few clicks of the mouse.
In order for COBUCS to perform successfully it is dependent upon each of you to enter your
company’s projects immediately upon receiving notice of them. Even if your company does not
plan to apply for a permit for months or possibly years down the road, enter every project you
receive in even the earliest planning stages, because it may be in those months that the City paves
the street you wish to work on. With plenty of notice ahead of time on proposed work, the City is
better able to coordinate with your company.
By using COBUCS to enter proposed work immediately upon notice, your company will be able to view
whether the work takes place on a guaranteed street or within the limits of a City Capital Project
instantly.
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Signing into COBUCS –
1) Go to the COBUCS web address using your assigned web browser (Internet Explorer,
Firefox, Google Chrome, etc) –
https://pwdapps.cityofboston.gov/cobucs/
2) Once the COBUCS sign-in page has loaded, enter the Username and Password assigned
to you.
A. If you have not been assigned a Username or Password be sure to contact the
Boston Public Works Department to verify that your company has authorized you
for access to the COBUCS program.
B. If your Username or Password does not work, please notify Mark Cardarelli
immediately by emailing him at [email protected] .
C. If you forget your Password, please notify Mark Cardarelli immediately by
emailing him.
3) Upon entering your Username and Password, hit the ENTER or RETURN key on your
Keyboard.
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Changing your Password –
1) Once you enter COBUCS you will be given four tabs to choose from. Each tab has a
separate function. The first tab, labeled Account Info will bring you to a window that will
allow you to change your Password.
A. It is very important that you change your Password upon entering COBUCS for
the first time.
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Changing your Password Con’t –
B. Your new Password should be something only you would know, and something
that you will remember in the future.
C. For security reasons it is recommended that you create a password that is over
seven characters long and contains both letters and numbers.
2) Once you have entered your new password, hit the ENTER or RETURN key.
3) If successfully done, you will be redirected to the starting menu once more and asked to
enter in your Username and Password again. Be sure to use the new password that you
just created.
4) The City of Boston will supply your company with as many User Accounts as needed. To
apply for a User Account please email Mark Cardarelli at [email protected]
5) If you experience any problems opening the Account Info tab please notify Mark
Cardarelli immediately by emailing him at [email protected] .
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Entering New Work into COBUCS –
1) To enter your company’s proposed and planned work into COBUCS, start by clicking on
the Capital Plan tab located on the starting Menu of COBUCS.
2) Remember, absolutely NO PERMITS shall be issued by the Boston Public Works Permit
Branch until the proposed work has been entered into the COBUCS program.
A. Emergency Permits are not considered Planned Work and are therefore not
required to be entered into COBUCS for activation.
B. On any emergency where the work continues beyond the 24 hour emergency
period, or if the work is put on hold at any point requiring either the use of steel
plates or the backfilling and securing of the work site in cold patch and/or hot mix
asphalt, the Permittee is required to apply for a PWD Permit to continue working
at the location.
C. At any point where a Permittee must apply for a PWD permit, that Permittee will
be responsible to enter the proposed work into COBUCS.
3) If you experience any problems opening the Capital Plans tab please notify Mark
Cardarelli immediately by emailing him at [email protected] .
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Adding a Proposed Work Segment –
1) After clicking on the Capital Plans tab you will be redirected to your company’s proposed
work list. This list will include all entries made into the COBUCS program by your
company.
A. In the above example no work has been entered, therefore the page is blank. Once
you start to add segments of work to the COBUCS program your proposed work
list will begin to grow.
B. If more than one person is entering proposed work locations for your company, be
sure to press the Refresh Data (see 1 on above figure) icon on the top right of the
COBUCS screen periodically. This will load all locations entered by another party
for your company so that you may see what work has been entered. Once
refreshed, all locations will be available for you to review.
2) To enter a new proposed work location, click on the Add Segment tab at the top left of
the screen (see 2 on above figure).
3) If you experience any problems opening the Add Segment tab please notify Mark
Cardarelli immediately by emailing him at [email protected] .
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Selecting the Location of Proposed Work –
1) After clicking on the Add Segment tab you will be redirected to a new window (see
above figure)
2) In this window you will be prompted to supply COBUCS with the name of the street you
wish to perform work on.
A. The name of the street may be abbreviated.
B. The COBUCS program will not recognize misspelled street names so it is a good
idea to write out only as much of the name as you know.
C. Do not add suffixes to the street name (St, Ave, Sq, Ct, etc). COBUCS will supply
the appropriate suffixes in the verification process.
3) Once you have the street name entered into the appropriate field, hit the ENTER or
RETURN key on your keyboard.
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Verifying the Location of Proposed Work –
1) Upon entering the name of the street you wish to perform work on, you will be given a
selection of streets with similar names to choose from. Verify which street you wish to
perform work on by clicking on the appropriate street name.
A. Take care in selecting the correct street name. There are many streets throughout
the City of Boston that share the same name. A two-letter code may be present at
the end of the street name to signify which district the street resides.
B. If you are given only one choice for verification it is likely that there is only one
street with the given name you entered. You must still verify the street you wish
to perform work on by clicking on the street name in the field list.
2) If the street you wish to perform work on is not shown in the verification field list, double
check your spelling. If needed, enter only the partial name of the street you wish to
perform work on in the Street Name Starts With field.
A. For Washington St you needn’t write out Washington in the street name field.
Instead you can write Wash. COBUCS will supply you with a number of streets
that match what you entered.
B. For streets that contain a prefix, such as St Botolph St, you may need to write out
the prefix. In this case St Botolph may need to be written as Saint Botolph or vice
versa.
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Selecting the Limits of Proposed Work –
1) Once the street has been verified you will be asked for limits of the work to be
performed.
2) To begin, scroll through the list of cross streets provided under the Limit field until you
come to the starting location of work (see above figure).
A. If you do not see the beginning cross street listed in the Limit field it may be
labeled under a cross street at the same intersection. Verify the location limits of
work and see if another street intersects the location you wish your work to begin
at.
B. You may be required to extend the limits of your proposed work if the proposed
work enters into the intersection of a cross street.
3) Once you have found the beginning of your proposed work limits, click on the name of
the cross street. The cross street should be highlighted once it is selected.
4) If you experience any problems opening the Limits tab please notify Mark Cardarelli
immediately by emailing him at [email protected] .
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Selecting the Limits of Proposed Work Con’t –
5) To select multiple segments, extending the proposed area of work, hold down the SHIFT
or CTRL (control) button on your keyboard and click on the appropriate cross street that
will encompass the propose work (see 1 & 2 on above figure).
6) If your work takes place at a single address, choose the limits that extend before and after
your proposed work location.
7) When submitting a street for proposed work, be sure that the cross streets or segments
selected fully encompass the project. You may choose to extend the limits of your
proposed work on COBUCS to ensure that your company’s project remains between the
specified cross streets in the selected segment.
8) Once you have selected the limits of your proposed work, a green arrow with the street
limits will appear at the top of the Limit field (see 3 on above figure).
9) Confirm that your limits are correct by clicking on the green arrow to the left of your
limit verification (see 3 on above figure).
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Click Initial Limit (1)
Click Ending Limit (2)
Hold down SHIFT
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Entering Actual Length (in Linear Ft) of Work –
1) After verifying the segments of work you will be redirected to a new tab labeled
Information. Here you will be asked for specific information regarding the location, size,
and estimated time frame of your proposed work.
2) The given Length of Repair is the entire length, in linear feet, between the two Limits you
selected.
A. If your company intends to do patch work at a specific address, please provide the
estimated length, in linear feet, of the work to be performed. Simply replace the
current length listed in the Length of Repair with the accurate estimated length of
work. If your company wishes to perform multiple cuts within the length of
service, please give the sum length, in linear feet, of all locations.
B. The Length of Repair should reflect the estimated length of repair your company
will be requesting on the permit application.1
3) If you experience any problems opening the Information tab please notify Mark
Cardarelli immediately by emailing him at [email protected] .
1 While COBUCS would like to have an accurate measurement of the proposed work, there will be certain instances where
you may not be able to ascertain the actual length and may use the given segment length as your entry. COBUCS’ is main
goal is to let the City know there is work between the segments. Obviously, when submitting the card for permit application
required by the PWD you are required to provide the accurate cut measurements.
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Entering Actual Address of Work –
1) Once you have entered the estimated length of the proposed work, enter the specific
house address, or range of addresses, where the proposed work is to take place (see 1 on
above figure). This will allow for a more defined view of exactly where your company
intends to perform work.
2) The Location/Address field should reflect the address your company will be requesting
on the permit application
Entering Estimated Start and Completion Dates of Work –
1) After entering the address(s), or address limits, enter the date of entry into the Estimated
Start Date field (see 2 on above figure).
A. Whether your company is entering work planned for the following year, the
following month, or the following week, the Estimated Start Date field should
always be the day the work was entered into COBUCS.
B. By entering the date of entry as the estimated starting date you allow the City to
coordinate with you more efficiently.
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Entering Estimated Start and Completion Dates of Work Con’t –
1) When entering data into COBUCS regarding your company’s long-term planned projects,
it is recommended that you extend your proposed completion date to the end of the
construction season (see above figure), regardless of your actual planned completion
date.
A. When your company finishes the work on the proposed work location, the actual
date of completion can be entered into the COBUCS program.
B. On any proposed capital projects your company has scheduled for the following
year, it is mandatory that you enter the information right away using the date of
entry as your start date. This will allow the City to know that you have proposed
major work coming up in case it has plans to work on the street.
2) When you enter the estimated start and completion date of a proposed project, COBUCS
reserves the location of proposed work for your company.
A. If the City reserves a street before your company requests work for that location,
COBUCS will show a conflict upon submitting the proposal. This does NOT
mean you will be unable to perform the work. The City will coordinate with your
company to allow work to be performed prior to the City’s work.
3) If you experience any problems entering the Estimated Start/End Date(s) please notify
Mark Cardarelli immediately by emailing him at [email protected] .
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Entering the Type of Work to be Performed –
1) COBUCS has been designed to cater to your own company’s needs. As such, your
company should have submitted a list of Repair Types for you to select from when
entering proposed work into COBUCS.
A. To view your company repair types, click on the drop-down icon to the right of
the field (see above figure).
B. If the Repair Type field is empty when you open the drop-down tab verify that
your company has supplied the Boston Public Works Department with the
necessary information and notify Mark Cardarelli immediately by emailing him at
[email protected] .
C. You MUST enter a Repair Type from the available choices in the drop-down
field. If the appropriate option does not exist for the proposed work, notify Mark
Cardarelli so that the option can be added to your company’s Repair Type field.
2) By entering the Repair Type in the Information tab, you are indicating the general work
to be performed at the selected location. This information should reflect the type of repair
your company will be requesting on the permit application.
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Entering a Reference Code –
1) The final step before entering your proposed location into COBUCS is to add an Internal
Reference so that your company is better able to location the proposed work (see 1 on
above figure).
A. Utility Companies and Private Contractors may use any code their company
chooses to best reference the work to be performed. It is recommended that your
company use its Work Order number system where applicable.
B. Site Plan Engineers must supply the contact name and phone number of the
point person for the project in the Internal Reference Field so that the City
can Coordinate where necessary.
2) Once you have entered your chosen Internal Reference, click on the Save Info icon at the
bottom of the window. Once the proposed work has been submitted there is no way to
edit the information, so take care to double check all information before submitting.
3) If at any point in the input process you wish to change the limits of work, you can go
back to the Street and Limit windows by clicking on the appropriate tab (see 2 on above
figure).
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Conflicts on Proposed Work Locations –
1) If you enter a location that falls within either a Guaranteed Street limit, or else an area
listed on the City of Boston’s future and proposed Capital Projects, the segment you
entered will be considered a Conflict, the street will become highlighted in red (see 1 on
above figure), and a pop-up window telling you why the location is in conflict will
appear.
A. If the proposed work takes place on, or crosses through, a Guaranteed Street, your
company will be responsible for paying the complete restoration costs for that
area.
B. If the proposed work takes place on a proposed City of Boston Capital
Project, contact Mark Cardarelli immediately by emailing him at
[email protected] .
Note: Immediately notifying PWD may allow Mark to coordinate with the City
Engineer to allow the work to take place before resurfacing commences.
2) If a street is listed as being in Conflict it does NOT mean you will be unable to perform
the work. The City will coordinate with your company to allow work to be performed
prior to the City’s work commencing, where possible.
A. To continue your entry, click on the OK button (see 2 on above figure)
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Viewing Details of Proposed Work Entered –
1) You are able to view the information you entered when adding a new proposed work
location by clicking on the Extension icon located to the left of your proposed work entry
(see 1 on above figure).
A. If at any point you discover incorrect information while reviewing your proposed
work locations, you must delete the proposed work entry and re-enter the work.
Be sure to double-check all of the information before saving the information.
2) The explanation for why the proposed work is listed as being in Conflict will be noted in
the Conflict section of the entry review (see 2 on above figure).
A. On any proposed work that COBUCS determines is in conflict with our
Guaranteed Street List, your company will be denied a permit for that location.
B. If your company wishes to appeal the denial, they may submit to Commissioner
Michael Dennehy of Public Works Department, detailing the reasons and
justification for the need to breach a Guaranteed Street.
C. On any proposed work that COBUCS determines is in conflict regarding the
City’s ARP, CRP, Recon, or ERP lists, you must IMMEDIATELY contact Mark
Cardarelli by emailing him at [email protected] AND call the Public
Works office at 617-635-4951.
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Record Number for Public Works Permit Branch Review –
1) Within the details of your entered proposed work there is a Record entry (See above
figure)
A. This Record entry is the reference number used by the Public Works Permit
Branch to verify your company’s proposed work has been entered into COBUCS.
This Record number will be requested by the Permit Branch before any Permit
will be issued.
B. Using a false Record number, or using a number for work not pertaining to the
particular permit application will be seen as an egregious offense and no permits
will be issued to your company. A meeting with Commissioner Michael Dennehy
will be held to determine the course of action to follow.
2) Even if your proposed work is listed as in Conflict, do not remove the work location from
COBUCS. The City of Boston will try to work with your company to allow work where
able.
3) For locations that are NOT listed as in Conflict your company is able to request a permit
immediately. Your company will still be responsible for all permit application processes,
including but not limited to Jackie’s Law permits, BTD regulations, and the City of
Boston Permit Application processes as outlined in the Rules and Specifications for the
City of Boston.
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Updating Permitted Work –
1) Proposed work entries that are without Conflict are not in conflict with City of Boston
planned, proposed, active, or guaranteed work. Your company will NOT receive notice if
another utility intends to perform work at the location you have proposed.
A. Locations without conflict are now included in your proposed Capital Plans.
B. If the City enters a street location into COBUCS for a proposed Capital Project
that falls within the limits of your proposed work, COBUCS will notify the City
that it must coordinate with your company before any possible Capital Project is
able to take place.
C. Conflicting work between utilities is not recorded so that utility companies cannot
fish for areas of work by requesting work on a street to see whether or not they
conflict with another utility’s work.
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Updating Permitted Work Con’t –
2) On all proposed work entered into COBUCS that is not met with some form of Conflict,
the entry will automatically be labeled as Proposed in the Progress field (see 1 on above
figure).
A. Once your company has successfully completed the permit application process
and has been issued a permit you should alter the Progress of the proposed work
to reflect that the location is now permitted (see 2 on above figure).
B. If your company intends to do work immediately after receiving a permit from the
Permit Branch, change the status to In Progress
C. For major projects requiring a large amount of clearance review by other utilities,
it is recommended that your company notify the other utilities at the City of
Boston Monthly Utility Coordination Meeting.
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Updating Permitted Work Con’t –
3) On work that has been issued a permit by the City of Boston Public Works Permit
Branch, attach the permit number to the work by highlighting the entry, typing the seven
digit code into the PWD field (see 1 on above figure), and pressing the Submit icon.
A. You can change the information in the Progress and PWD fields as many times as
needed, however once you submit the entry as Completed you will be unable to
change the entry’s progress further.
4) When completing work, be sure to enter the date the work was completed into the
Complete field (see 2 on above figure). By changing the status of the work to Complete
you are stating that your company has finished its repairs and has no further work to
complete using the permit number provided for that location.
5) By clicking on the Submit icon (see 3 on above figure), COBUCS will update the
information entered into the Progress, PWD, and Completed fields.
A. By entering a date into the Complete field and setting your Progress as completed
you are freeing that street, allowing the Public Works Department to once again
schedule a Capital Program in the future for that location.
B. If you have multiple permits at the same address, enter the information into
COBUCS for each permit individually. Jackie’s Law Permits do not need to be
issued into COBUCS.
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Removing Entries Entered Into COBUCS –
1) If for some reason you need to remove an entry from COBUCS, often due to work being
canceled or inaccurate entries, simply select the entry and click on the Delete Segment
icon located at the top left of the window (see 1 on above figure).
A. You will be prompted to verify that you wish to remove the entry permanently.
This cannot be undone if you select Yes.
B. If you accidentally remove an entry you wished to keep, you must re-enter the
information for that location once more into COBUCS. There is no recovery
system for deleted entries.
2) Please do not remove completed entries. The Public Works Department is working on a
system to automatically remove Completed work from your entry table.
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Clearing City of Boston PWD Proposed Capital Project Work –
1) Prior to COBUCS, clearing a Proposed City Capital Project involved an often complex
and confusing transfer of spreadsheets back and forth. Now, with COBUCS you are able
to submit your clearance review in just two simple steps!
2) To begin the clearance process start by selecting the City Clearance icon on the COBUCS
starting menu (see above figure).
3) If you experience any problems opening the City Clearance tab please notify Mark
Cardarelli immediately by emailing him at [email protected] .
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Clearing CoB PWD Proposed Capital Project Work Con’t –
1) Within the City Clearance window there will be a number of streets the City of Boston is
requesting clearance on. It is your responsibility to review the limits of work for each
location and verify that your company has absolutely no work needing to be performed
within the proposed limits.
A. If your company has proposed work that falls within the City of Boston’s Capital
Project location limits that information should already be entered into the
COBUCS program under your Capital Plans.
B. By entering your proposed work into your Capital Plans the Public Works
Department will receive notice of your conflict.
2) If, after verification, your company has no work to perform within the proposed limits
you can clear the street by selecting the Clear icon on the top right of the window (see
above figure).
A. Clearing a street cannot be undone. If you receive work within the limits of
proposed work after clearing the street you must contact Mark Cardarelli
immediately by emailing him at [email protected] .
B. Delaying the deferral of proposed work even a single day by not entering your
work into COBUCS could mean the difference between having your company’s
work completed prior to the City Project being completed, and being restricted
from the location until the Guarantee period has passed.
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Reviewing COBUCS Reports –
1) COBUCS offers three reports to be reviewed to better aid your company.
A. The Guaranteed Street List
B. City of Boston’s Capital Plans
C. Your Company’s Capital Plans
2) To view a report, select the Reports icon on the COBUCS starting menu (see
above figure).
3) If you experience any problems opening the Reports tab please notify Mark
Cardarelli immediately by emailing him at [email protected] .
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Reviewing COBUCS Reports Con’t –
4) COBUCS has made available an updated list containing the City of Boston’s
Guaranteed Street List (see 1 on above figure). A Guaranteed Street is a street that
has been paved within the past five years.
A. Streets listed as being Guaranteed are restricted from utility work until the
Guarantee Period has ended.
B. On any proposed work that COBUCS determines is in conflict with our
Guaranteed Street List, your company will be denied a permit for that location.
C. If your company wishes to appeal the denial, they may submit to the
Commissioner of Public Works, Michael Dennehy, detailing the reasons and
justification for the need to breach a Guaranteed Street.
5) By viewing the Guaranteed Street List your company will be able to know in
advance which streets can and cannot be worked on. This will save your company
time, and will allow for no surprises when requesting a permit from the Public
Works Permit Branch.
6) To view a report, click on the icon just left of the selection (see 2 on above
figure).
7) COBUCS also allows your company to open a printable report detailing the City
of Boston’s proposed Capital Plan, as well as a copy of your own company’s
Capital Plan (see 3 on above figure).
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